The Spatial Aspects of the Wind Farms Impact on the Environment

Abstract

At a time of increasing use of renewable energy sources in the production of electricity, including the expansion of wind energy, there is a need to examine the impact that projects in the field of renewable energy resources have on the environment. Although it is mainly the positive impact of projects in this field that are spoken and written about, and these are certainly indisputable, there are also certain negative implications of renewable energy projects. This is also the case with projects using green energy in wind farms. For this reason, special attention must be paid to the analysis and assessment of such impacts, as well as to responsible planning and optimal solutions for the spatial organization, by means of which effective environmental protection is achieved. This is where we arrive at the significance of applying strategic environmental assessment (SEA) in the planning and spatial organization of wind farms, with the aim of achieving preventive environmental protection. With regard to the role and significance of SEA as an instrument for steering the planning process towards the objectives of environmental protection, the application of SEA in the planning of wind farms stands as the optimal solution for the prevention of the negative effects of wind farms on environmental elements. Another argument supporting this statement is the fact that SEA is characterized by a holistic approach in which it is possible to see complex interactions and correlations in the space in which a wind farm project is planned, that is, the approach analyzes the spatial aspects of the impact of wind farms on the environment. This is precisely the theme of the book SPATIAL ASPECTS OF THE IMPACT OF WIND FARMS ON THE ENVIRONMENT. In addition to analyzing the possibilities and significance of applying SEA in preventive environmental protection when planning wind farms, the book pays special attention to a possible methodological approach in the evaluation of planning propositions. In this context, particular significance is given to the application of the semi‐quantitative expert qualitative method for the multi‐criteria evaluation of planning solutions, which also integrates so‐called partial approaches in evaluating the impact of individual environmental elements, and which can in the case of planning wind farms be based on specific simulation software models. The theoretical knowledge is applied to a specific example in the second half of the book, which contributes to the applicability of the research